Lloydelee21, I very much appreciate the detail comparison of various speakers and amps. I decided to put up with the drive and did some audition. These speakers so drastically varied in performance depending on everything else, even with the "best" of each brand of associated equipment. I did check specific models, and these dealers knew to connect the best supporting equipment for these speakers (Stradivari, Maxx 3, and Sasha which replaced the Watt/Puppy)
I tried the Strad with a mixed of Linn and McIntosh equipment. It sounded so boomy. With all Linn equipment, the Strad sounded considerably cleaner but was dry. The Strad seemed to perform best with all tube McIntosh setup. It sounded somewhat more vivid than my Pass/Prelude MTS but definitely did not warrant the money. Don't make any judgment yet.
Moving on to Wilson speakers, the Maxx 3 was driven by Theta amp with Theta CD player, and it definitely did not come alive, sounded far worst than Maxx 2 driven by BAT that I heard a couple years ago. The funny thing was that the Sasha sounded better than Maxx 3 because Ayre MXR drove it. Now the store owner did tell me that Maxx 3 required at least 400W/channel because of its woofer. So the MXR did not have enough power to drive the Maxx.
I came home with about the same thinking as before doing the road trip. The Prelude MTS does edge out Sasha, but I do understand that Pass XA.5 series amp. is such a superior Class A amp. So my XA60.5 monoamp. can definitely cause the bias. Now there is no way that Maxx 3 truly sounds worse than Maxx 2 or Sasha. It's because of the equipment mismatch. Maxx 2/BAT definitely has that extreme wide bandwidth. I somewhat felt like I was in a live performance. But I just don't know if that means Maxx 2 is a better speaker design than Stradivari. McIntosh tube preamp. and amp. might not be the best equipment to drive the Strad.
The surprise about the whole road trip did not come from the trip intent. At one of these dealers, I listened to the McIntosh tube monoamp. driving Snell A7 Illusion. The soundstage just came alive, from classical to rock music. The mid range, specific singing voice, coming from the Snell was so real, as if the singer was right there in front of my eyes. The strings and contrast between music segments was so vivid. I did listen to a lot of equipmetn through the years, and none of them have that vividness for the orchestra strings. Base authority was fine. I actually drove away not wanting Wilson nor Sonus Faber but the Snell Illusion specifically.
I tried the Strad with a mixed of Linn and McIntosh equipment. It sounded so boomy. With all Linn equipment, the Strad sounded considerably cleaner but was dry. The Strad seemed to perform best with all tube McIntosh setup. It sounded somewhat more vivid than my Pass/Prelude MTS but definitely did not warrant the money. Don't make any judgment yet.
Moving on to Wilson speakers, the Maxx 3 was driven by Theta amp with Theta CD player, and it definitely did not come alive, sounded far worst than Maxx 2 driven by BAT that I heard a couple years ago. The funny thing was that the Sasha sounded better than Maxx 3 because Ayre MXR drove it. Now the store owner did tell me that Maxx 3 required at least 400W/channel because of its woofer. So the MXR did not have enough power to drive the Maxx.
I came home with about the same thinking as before doing the road trip. The Prelude MTS does edge out Sasha, but I do understand that Pass XA.5 series amp. is such a superior Class A amp. So my XA60.5 monoamp. can definitely cause the bias. Now there is no way that Maxx 3 truly sounds worse than Maxx 2 or Sasha. It's because of the equipment mismatch. Maxx 2/BAT definitely has that extreme wide bandwidth. I somewhat felt like I was in a live performance. But I just don't know if that means Maxx 2 is a better speaker design than Stradivari. McIntosh tube preamp. and amp. might not be the best equipment to drive the Strad.
The surprise about the whole road trip did not come from the trip intent. At one of these dealers, I listened to the McIntosh tube monoamp. driving Snell A7 Illusion. The soundstage just came alive, from classical to rock music. The mid range, specific singing voice, coming from the Snell was so real, as if the singer was right there in front of my eyes. The strings and contrast between music segments was so vivid. I did listen to a lot of equipmetn through the years, and none of them have that vividness for the orchestra strings. Base authority was fine. I actually drove away not wanting Wilson nor Sonus Faber but the Snell Illusion specifically.